Band tightener



S. C. CARY.

BAND TiGHTENER.

' APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19. 1918.

1,412,165. Patented pr. 11, 1922.

l/VVENTOR I A7TORIVEY scription taken in ngs, whereinage in a sealed condition:

shown in Figure 1.

srnnciin c. CARY, or BROOKLYN, I\TEW YORK, assicaron T0 cARY minoracrimnve COMPANY, or BROOKLYN, new YORK, A conroaarron on NEW YORK.

- BAND are3-10:Elvira.

To all whom it may concern: Beit known that I, SPENCER C. CARY, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city 'of'New York, borough of Brooklyn, county ofKings, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Band Tightener, of which the following is a specification. r

This invention is a device whereby bands may be drawn tightly aroundpacking cases, boxes, shooks, and shipping packages of different kinds. 1 According to this invention, it is sought to stretch a wire band so tightly around a shipping package as to result in a partial embedding'of the band into the material of the package, whereby the stretched band 0p.- erates to bind together the parts of the package and said band cannot become displaced upon said package.

To this end, a salient featureof the invention is aband tightener constructed to lie] close to or flat uponthe shipping package,

thus obviating a certain slack which arises in the band when certain prior tightening devices are employed. 7 f

The invention consists, further, in the provision of band-gripping .devices which are easily operated and which act with markedefiiciency in gripping the band so as to preclude any tendency of the band of slippin relatively to the tightening device,.par-

ticu arly when the band is subjected to great strainin the operation. of stretching said band around the shipping packa'ge,so-as to ap ly the band to the package.

' ther features and advantages of the in vention will appear fromfthe following deconnection with the draw- Figure '1 is a plan view 'illustrating 'the mode of using my device in'stretching aband around a shipping package, said figure illustrating one ofthebandsapplied to the pack- Figure 2' is aside elevation the device Figure '3 is a cross sectiongthrougli one' 'of Figurel. Figure 4 is a detailed view on an, enlarged the members or heads on th'e' line of scale ofone of the gripping w d A B are two membersorheads, Ca guide stem connecting said heads,-'and-1D a' sc're'w Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr, 11 1922', Application filed January'lS, leis Serial 1\To..212,'553. v r

spindle for effecting the relative movement between the heads.

Each head is cast or otherwise formed ofa single piece of metal, preferably of the generally oblong form shown in Figure l," The heads are provided at one end with openings a and'intermediate the ends of each head it is enlarged at b in order that a screw-thread ed openi g 0 may be formed in the head, it

being preferredto make theopening c in the headsA B of opposite screw threads( In addition to the opening a and the threaded opening 0, each head'is provided with a slot or recess Z, said recess or slot extending I ofthe recess converging as shown in dotted 131011 the recess or slotcl is cutaway at one of transversely through the head and the walls lines in Figure 1. According to this 'inven its sidewalls so that the" slot or recess opens through a sideor face of the head A 01313.

One wall of each recess is provided withzi a grooved in hich is adapted to be received an end portion of a band,"as;will be herein after described.

. The spindle D; is provided: with ;two

threaded portionsj e e, onegthread being a single continuous thread. The threaded Provided with anoperating'member such as a crankD. g r I 7 Cooperating with the heads 'fhBia t shown in detail in Fig. 4:. The wedge is a tapering piece of metal, the faces of which converge so as to correspond to thejconrightehand screw Qandthe othera lefthand 1 screw, but it may be desirable-under some r circumstances to employ a screw having a band-gripping wedges 'E'F, one of 'which'i's vergence of the walls of the-slot or recess (Z gripping face 7. 'It should be stated thatthe. slot d in-the-hea'd LA; tapers in ail-opposite di- The entire" tightening dew ice Tis adaptedto r b im'posed or laid flat upon ashipping pack.- if

'in'the head. Thetaperingwedgeisprovid- "i 7 ed, furthermoragwith a'serrated'ortoothed '100 V 'rection to the taperbfthe slotd in the-"head B, and thus the two wedgesE are adapted to occupy reversed positions "to each other when 'thrustinto the recesses or slots 65 of-the" .165} respective heads. :3"

age, one of which is indicated at G in Fig. 1. The recesses (Z in the headsA B open through the under face of said heads so as to lie next to the shipping package G, and thus a band I can lie flat upon the shipping package when the end portions 2' t" of said band are received within the recesses (Z of heads A B.

The guide stem C is smooth externally, one end portion of said stem being fitted in the opening a of the member or head B and being made fast thereto by suitable means, such as the cross pin 0, see Fig. 1. Said stem fits loosely in the opening a of the other member or head A, and thus the stem is attached to one member and fitted slidably to the other member for the purpose of retaining the two members in their .desired relation and of guiding said members as they are moved toward or away from each other by the operation of the screw spindle D. The tightening device herein disclosed is adapted for use more particularly in connection with wire bands adapted for binding or securing together the parts or a shipping package, two oi said bands being indicated at I in Fig. 1. Vhen it is desired to use the device for tightening a band, the wire is passed around the shipping package and the two end portions 2' z" are brought into lapping relation, see the lower illustration in Fig. 1. The heads or 1nembers A B are now laid sidewise upon the packing case so that one end portion, as i, of the band is received in the recess cl of head A, whereas the other end portion 71 of said band is received in the recess of the head B. The operator now inserts the wedges Eand F into the recesses of the respective heads and by lightly tapping on the wedges they are driven home, whereby the wedges and the recessed heads cooperate in gripping the respective end portions of the band, said end portions being usually in lapping relation and tree from the grhpping engagement with the tightening device. The screw spindle is now rotated in a proper direction to simultaneously draw the heads A and B toward each other, and as the band is gripped by the wedges to the moving heads, it follows that said band is stretched tightly around the case; in fact, the screw provides power means for stretching the band so tightly that it will become embedded in the material of the shipping package, particularly at the corners thereof. When the tightening device shall have'been operated sufliciently to place the desired tension on the band, the operator stops turning the screw spindle and proceeds to fasten and seal the loose or free end portions of the band. The wedges E F are displaced by driving them out of the recesses in the heads A B, thus releasing the band, whereupon the entire tightening device can easily be removed from the packing case, leaving the wire band firmly applied to said packing case, and with the ends thereof anchored in position by a sealing member.

An important advantagesecured by my invention is that the band is stretched without lifting said band relatively to the package, such stretching operation taking place while the band remains in contact with said package, thus avoiding the presence of a limited amount of slack in the band after the same shall have been secured or attached. In prior devices of which I have knowledge, it is necessary to lift the end portions of the band away from the package, in order to grip said end portions in the stretchingde vices. This mode of operation leaves a permanent allowance of slack in the band after stretching it, because said lifting part of the band is out of contact with the package, and after securing the band and removing the stretching device, this slack is communicated to the stretching portion of the band, thus relaxing the tension thereon to an appreciable degree. As herein stated, my stretching device allows the band to remain in contact with the package during the operations of gripping the band and of stretching the same, after which the slack end portions of the band are attached to the sealing device J so as to leave no slack, so that when the stretcher is detached, there is no appreciable or perceptible relaxation in the tension of the'band.

The stretching device is simple in construction, consisting of a few parts which are economically made and assembled. If desired, the wedges may be attached by flexible cords or chains to the heads A B, to prevent loss of said wedges, although this obvious arrangement is not necessary. The device is, moreover, easily applied,.operated and removed, and it is light in weight so that it can be handled readily. It isapparcut that one or more seals J may be used on the package in connection with each band; in fact, a number of seals may be fitted to the band and one seal driven into each panel of the shipping package, thus effectively sealing the same and. contributing to the security of the package.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A band tightener embodying a plurality of heads each provided with a slot the walls of which converge, said slot beingcut away on one side of the head and one Wall of said slot having a groove, combined with wedges each insertible into the slot of one head and positioned for cooperation with the groove so as to grip a band, and means for effecting a relative movement between said heads.

2. A band tightener embodying a plural-.

ity of heads each provided with a recess one "wall of which is grooved, wedging means cooperating with said recesses, the faces of the wedging means opposite the grooves being serrated, and means for effecting a relative movement between said heads.

.3. A band tightener embodying a plurality of heads each provided with a recess the walls of which converge, wedges each adapted to enter one of said recesses for gripping a band'by contact with one wall each having a face adapted for contact with a package and provided with a recess one side of which opens through said contact face and another wall of which constitutes a band-gripping face, and a binder-gripping member movable within said recess, one face of said binder-gripping member being in opposing relatlon to the binder-grippmg in combination with means for effecting a relative movement between saidheads.

5. In a band tightener, avpluralit-y of heads each having a substantially flat face adapted for contact with a package and provided with a recess one side of whichris cut away so as to open through said contact face whereby a binder is adapted to lie within said recess without displacing said binder from contact with the surface of the package, and bindergripping means co-operating with said recess for gripping a binder by and between a'surface of said head and a face of'sa'id bindergripping means,.in combination with means for effecting a relative movement between said heads. i

6. In a band tightener, a plurality of heads each having a substantially flat face adapted for contact with a package and provided with a recess one side of which is cut away to open through said contact face whereby a binder is adapted to be received within said recess while remaining in substantial contact with the package, one wall of said recess being exposed for contact with the binder, anda binder-gripping wedge insertible into the recess and positioned for one face thereof to be opposite the binder-contacting face constituted by the wall of said recess, in combination with means for effecting a relative movement between said heads. a

'7. In a band tightener, a plurality of heads each having a substantially fiat face adapted for contact with a package and provided with a recessone side of which is cut away to open through said contact face whereby a binder is adapted to be received within h V 1 said recess while remaining in substantial face constituted by sald wall of the recess,

contact with the package, the opposing walls of each recess being in converging relation and one wall of each recess being exposed for contact with the binder when the latter:

is within the recess, and binder-gripping wedgemembers each insertible into the recess'of one head to occupy an opposing r e lation to the exposed binder'contacting face constituted by a wall of said recess, incombination with means for efiectingarelative movement between said heads. 7

In testimony whereof I have hereunto SPENCER o. CARY.

signed my name this 16thday of January, 1918. 1 

